The Nick Bare Podcast - 180: Why Women Need To Lift Heavy, Build Muscle & Eat More Protein | Stef Bare

Episode Date: June 29, 2026

My wife, Stef Bare, joins me to share how a year of intentional strength training transformed her body and mindset. We break down reverse dieting, eating 2,300 calories, progressive overload, prioritizing protein, playing tennis, and her daily supplement routine. This conversation is for all of you wanting to add in more strength programming, but specifically for women ready to stop holding back and build strength.CHAPTERS:0:00 Intro2:00 Stef's 20-Year Fitness Background6:20 Working Out vs. Being Intentional11:10 How We Met18:20 What Sparked the Muscle-Building Era22:00 The Reverse Diet: From 1,500 to 2,300 Calories25:35 Front-Loading Protein: The 70-Gram Breakfast30:00 Full Day of Eating & Favorite Protein Sources35:50 Food Is Fuel — Carbs Are Not the Enemy38:45 Nick's Crispy Rice & Pan-Seared Salmon Method43:45 How Stef's Training Changed: Volume, Intensity & Progressive Overload49:35 The Hobby That Changed Everything58:40 Fueling for Heat1:00:10 Stef's Daily Supplement StackORDER MY BOOK HERE: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/Go-One-More-Intentional-Life-Changing/dp/1637746210FOLLOW:Become a BPN member FOR FREE - Unlock 25% off FOR LIFE ⁠https://www.bareperformancenutrition.com/collections/performance-nutritionIG: ⁠instagram.com/nickbarefitness/⁠YT: ⁠youtube.com/@nickbarefitnessThis podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal [health or profession] advice. Bare Performance Nutrition (BPN) is not responsible for any losses, damages, or liabilities that may arise from the use of this podcast. This podcast is not intended to replace professional medical advice.This podcast may not be republished without the written consent of Bare Performance Nutrition (BPN)

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of the podcast with my beautiful wife, Steph Bear. I feel like I've been on quite a bit lately. I love it. What do you think? I don't know. What do you mean you don't know? You know how I feel about podcasts. Well, today we're talking about something a little different.

Yeah, I'm really excited about it today. This is all about Steph's fitness journey and strength. and muscle building experiment over the last year. Yeah. We'll dive into it. But I've watched you change your approach and perspective on training and diet this last year plus. And you've been more focused. You've been more intentional.

You've taken it more serious. Yeah. You've just done different things in the last year. And it's been really cool to watch and witness. And you haven't only changed the way you show up in the gym in the morning, but also the amount of protein you're consuming. Yeah, everything. So it's been really cool to be able to watch.

And I want to share what you've learned over this last year. Yeah, I'm excited because I feel like we haven't really talked about women's health and fitness here. And I know there's a lot of guys listening. So this would be a great resource. for wives and sisters and daughters because, yeah, I've learned so much and I just, we haven't really dove into it yet. So I hope this is really helpful

for the women they need to hear it. So let's give some background, some context. Yeah. How would you describe your regular training over the last 10-ish years of your life? Yeah. So I think I went to the gym for the first time with my older brother

when I was 14. I remember he was like, what's the pre-workout? I always tell you was the first time I ever took pre-workout. I know explode? No. Jack 3D?

Cray's? Oh, craze, yeah. Is that what it was? Yeah, craze was one. Okay, I think that's what it was. Enphetamines. What? It had some band ingredients in there.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yes. I remember it was like the summer my brother really got into lifting and he's like, if you take this, you're going to feel like

you just want to run through the brick walls of lifetime fitness. I'm like, I don't know if I want to know what that feels like I would take like half a scoop. But that being said, that summer, I really fell in love with the gym and he was really sweet enough to take me around and he kind of showed me what lifting is. He was a college athlete. So he had a really good foundation. And he's really the first person that introduced me to fitness and lifting weights and strength training. And from there, 14, I'm 34 now. We were talking about this last night. It's been 20 years that I've been in the gym, which is just crazy. And it's always been something that has been a non-negotiable for me. I feel like from that moment when I fell in love with it, it just made me feel so good. And I knew that it was going to be just like brushing my teeth in the morning, just like something that I do every single day, most days. And from there, it's been a big mix of trying new things from strength training, you know, bodybuilding. style, I would take cakeboxing classes back in the day at Lifetime Fitness. I was a big group

fitness girl, Pilates, Spin, F-45, Orange Theory, berries, you name it. I've tried it. I've tried everything because I just, I love it all so much. But through that, I feel like I've really found what works for me, especially in this phase of mid-30s and what I need to prioritize to just really make sure that I am healthy and strong for my kid and from my family. I was saying to you last night, now it's just turned into like a fight against frail. Like I will do everything that I can to not be frail as I get older because I've just seen how much better your life and your health and just overall longevity. Everything can be if you prioritize strength training. So kind of like your podcast episode last week, I'm the same way. I always come back to strength training.

I was thinking about this last night, but also the last couple weeks. You know, we just launched the strength collection. Yeah. With BPN. So there's been a huge strength push recently, resistance training. And I mean, going back through a lot of my old content. I've been, you know, documenting my life on YouTube since 2014. But I've been training over 20 years now, similar to you.

Yeah. And from the day to day, week to week, month to month, even year to year, I can't really tell or see these changes in body composition or performance necessarily. But when I look back over 20 years of training, I see the changes in body composition and the way my body moves and biomechanics and my strength and performance and. athletic ability, all that to say that this is a lifelong journey. Yeah. And the consistency does compound over time. So even when you don't see the results day to day or week to week, you know that over this long period of time, you're making this progressive shift and change. And it's cool to see. Yeah. And I think probably if we're talking 20 years, I would probably say 15 of those years.

I was working out, but it wasn't really, I don't want to say it wasn't results driven. I wanted to see results, but I wasn't intentional. I wasn't educated. I didn't take the time to research and really figure out how to get those results that I was wanting. So I was kind of just doing whatever, picking up the same dumbbells, taking random classes. There was no structure or programming or intention behind it. So while it was good for my health, I feel like until the last, like, few years, that's when I've really been able to see changes, feel changes,

because I've actually taken the steps to program, be intentional, lay out my goals, work with the coach, all those things. You can love fitness, but I feel like you're never going to get everything you want out of it unless you really get intentional with it. So when you first started training with your brother in the gym, was that like a bodybuilding single muscle group? split approach? Totally, yeah. We would do legs one day.

I always love leg day. And then we would do, you know, back and biceps, chest and triceps, shoulders, like just so bro split. That's what we did. And then that was kind of like through high school for me. And I also was a dancer growing up. So I never really, I had that form of cardio, but I was really the only person I knew at the time that would also go to the gym.

And then through college, I was always like one of the only girls. in my friend group and in my sorority, they would go to powerhouse gym. And then even just after I graduated and got my degree, I was like, should I make this my career? Because I loved it so much. I actually got certified as a CPT, taught spin classes. So I've just been around the block. But yeah, back then it was just straight up gross split.

Why'd you love leg day? I don't know. I think because I've always had like a stronger, lower body. like I don't have like, you know, I have muscular legs. So I feel like I always just felt the most like powerful and able on those days. Like I think I remember my brother being like, oh, you actually can like squat a lot. And that was cool feeling. Hmm.

What do you mean from? A lot of people when they first start training like lower body, I mean, at least from the guys, lower body is avoided by many people. Yeah. Maybe girls and women, females are different. But a lot of guys early on in training hate leg day. I think looking back now that you're pointing this out, it makes sense. I think that was really the only lift or day that I, like squats, for example.

Like you, a lot of people, it's easier to have the mindset of I want to get stronger at squats because you're adding plates rather than just picking up other dumbbells. So I think I was motivated now that I'm thinking about it because I'm like, oh, I want to add more plates. whereas I wasn't really using a barbell for anything else. So I kind of liked that working towards something. And now I know progressive overload. I know that's kind of a little bit of what that was. But I really wasn't getting that on any other day. So I think maybe that's why I liked it.

Okay. Well, let's talk about briefly, you know, how we first met. Yeah. You were living in Nashville. I was a van, Texas. I'll share the large part of the story first so we can get to what I want to talk about. But I was ruck marching from Austin to Houston to raise money for Hurricane Harvey. You were working for a military news network in Nashville called Rated to Red at the time.

You guys picked up the story. We started communicating that led us to dating and then. getting engaged and you moved to Texas and we got married and now we have two kids and here we are. But when you were in Nashville, you were living in Nashville, this is like 2017 timeframe. You were working full time for rated red running their social media. Part time you were personal training coaching at a boutique fitness studio. Which, sorry to interrupt you, but my goal moving to Nashville actually, the marketing job was kind of just like a pay my rent.

That's what I was at a degree in. But right before I moved to Nashville is when I got certified. And I wanted to be like a Nashville fitness influencer, like Nashville fitness figure. So that was my goal was to eventually make that my whole career there. But yeah, part time I was working at a boutique fitness studio while also working a day job. People compare Austin and Nashville a lot. But I would argue the fitness scenes in Nashville. And Austin are completely different.

Oh, I agree. Yeah. There's, like, Nashville when we were there was much more boutique fitness, studio focused. These smaller communities, those are just different than Austin. For sure. Austin's a lot of like running and. Yeah. Yeah.

Larger community activations. Yeah. So let's talk about like when you were in Nashville, what that experience was like, what you're doing, what you're coaching. coaching how you were training people. Yeah. Like what you were doing in fitness. Yeah. So I would teach 6 a.m. boot camps, which were a mix of like strength, hit.

And it was for a brand new studio. It was called Vigour. I still talk to the owner all the time. Like she just took a huge chance on me. I think she slid in my DMs because at that time when I was making the move to Nashville, I was making like fitness videos and recipes. And I think like that's how we kind of also found each other. So she knew that I just got sort of.

I have no idea how she found me, but I mean, I had never taught a class before or anything. And she took a huge bet on me because she thought she just liked my personality and my energy. So I would work at the front desk a little bit. And then she kind of started me off teaching strength and hit boot camps. And I would have sometimes like two people in my class. And then sometimes I would have like 15. It was a smaller studio. But it taught me a lot about client relationships and people and their goals. And it really just opened my eyes to how so many people are just working out saying they're working out and they just, again, no intention. And then she needed a spin instructor. And I had no interest in that at all. I'd never spin before. And she's like, I promise, like, please, I need a spin instructor. You'll be really good at this. And she begged me. So I went through training, didn't really love it. But we had a Pilates studio in the studio and we would literally turn it into a spin studio and pull the bikes out and set them up in this Pilates room. And again, I had classes where I taught one person. And I'm like, I guess I don't need this mic.

Was it awkward? Yes. It's terrible. And I'm like, I'm not going to ride. Is you literally? Was that an exaggeration? No, I'm not kidding. Like, if I had two people, I felt so much better.

Because I could say you guys. Hell. Instead of you. It was a brand, but like, here's the thing. It was a brand new studio. You knew the location. It was kind of a terrible location in Nashville. It was a tough location.

It just, it just struggled. It was the most beautiful studio ever, but it just struggled. I know, we know it's a tough location. Because we took over that location. Because when we were living in Nashville in 2023 and we had an office there, the office was above the fitness studio. That's how, yeah, we found it. Yep. Yep.

If you are from Nashville, the studio was actually taken over by Booth Camp, Sean Booth's Gym, which was tremendously successful. Now they're in a different location. That's where I started. But yeah, I would teach spin. And it was so awkward because normally in spin you mirror people, right? Like it's like, I'm across from you. But I'm like, this is so terrible. I would just like move my bike next to them and we would just like ride together to Taylor Swift. And I didn't even know what I was doing. But I wouldn't even even say that's when I fell in love with spin. When I moved here to Austin, I was like, I'm done teaching spin. No way. No way, no way. But then I started to ride Soul Cycle. And that's when I really fell in love with that. And even to this day, Spin's my favorite form of cardio. I think it's just like the dancer background. I didn't. A lot of people don't understand the difference. Yeah. You do because you've taken it.

I've done a SoulCycle class. Got my butt kick. Like so hard. It's hard. So explain the difference between, say, a traditional spin class. Yeah. Or riding on a Peloton, for example. Yeah.

Because there's a lot of people who ride Peloton bike. Yeah. And then what makes SoulCycle in that style of spin so different. Yeah. So I feel like there's two types of spin. if you're looking at the two types. I would say Soul Cycle. I'm sure there's other boutique studios like SoulCycle,

but we'll put SoulCycle on one side. And then you have Cycle Bar, Peloton, maybe some cycle classes at Lifetime Fitness. Those are all very numbers driven. We're talking like you're going to be hearing instructors. Shout out RPMs, Watts, resistance, all that kind of things. And we talk about resistance and SoulCycle, but in a different way. So it's, you're just kind of riding and you have performance.

school is based on numbers in those like Peloton. I mean, I haven't really taken that many Peloton classes, but those types of classes. Soul cycle, there is no monitor on the bike. There's no, there's nothing. You have no idea of numbers, watts, RPMs, anything. You were just riding to the beat of the music, which is a really, really cool immersive experience if you're in a class where people get it. Because I always say you either get it or you do not. And it's very clear for the people that don't have rhythm, and don't get it. But I think, again, because of my dance background and my just love for music and my musicality, I fell in love with it.

It is, it's just, I mean, you can attest to it. It's a really cool experience. You're riding in sync with people to some of the most amazing beat-driven music in a dark room. It's just, it's a vibe. It's very emotional. Yeah, it is, for sure. Yeah.

It's a fun experience. It is, yeah. It's like being at a concert or a show and you feel it. Yeah, exactly. You're riding based off of feel, not objective numbers. Yeah, it's not about numbers at all, which I love. For me, I do it because I love it. So I've seen you train many different ways over the years.

Like when you first moved down to Texas, we were going to the gym every day, and we were hitting like the bro bodybuilding split. Yeah. We'd hit shoulders together. We'd hit back together. We do leg day, stuff like that. And then I saw you get really into Soul Cycle. So you were probably going to SoulCycle classes three times a week.

Yeah. Ain't cheap. It's not cheap. And that's why we moved away from downtown Austin. Oh. And then I saw you for a period of time get into different boutique or like large scale group fitness classes, like Orange Theory. While I was pregnant. I did that.

While you're pregnant. Yep. Orange Theory. And now you do Pilates every once in a while. I've seen you try all these different things. You're really into Metcons and high rocks for a period of time. So, like, your fitness journey has... I've also ran a half marathon.

Two half marathons. You have run two half marathons. And I will never do it again. Now it's on record. You say that now. Hey, if we both ran a lot, it wouldn't work. You're right, but you said that now, we could, like, be 10 years in the future, and you could be running marathons and ultra-marathons.

I'm not saying it's likely, but it's possible. Never say never. It's possible. And over this whole journey, you've tried all these different things, right? In this last year, I've seen you more dialed in, focused. I would even say more curious than ever before when it comes to training and getting stronger and changing your body composition. What triggered that?

What made you want to say it's time for me to really lean in and explore this curiosity? Yeah. I think what kind of sparked it. So if you go back almost like a year and a half ago, I was coming off of years and years of really intense working out, like hit Orange Theory. You know, I tried at 45, like really intense stuff on my body. And I just have my second baby. And I was just feeling like not the best, right? I'm like, my joints hurt. I feel tight. I don't, I just, I've never explored any. gentler before. And I was kind of curious about it. So I think the whole like year after Nico, I found this gal on Instagram. Her name's Courtney. She's got the fit by fit with Coco method. And it's Pilates like foundation, but it's still strength. It's strength in Pilates.

So I had a whole year. Like I was working out barefoot, mat, ankle weights, light weights. It was more like higher rep, lower weight. And I did that for a year. And actually I felt really good. I did. I felt good. And I liked what it did to my body. I felt a little bit more feminine. I enjoyed it. But then I think I, I think what sparked it was a Dexas scan, I believe. And I remember after that year of more Pilates gentle fitness, I felt good, but I kind of had this moment where I'm like, ooh, I feel like I have lost a little muscle. And I've been more muscular before. I felt stronger before. I don't know if I like this. And then I got a Dexascan. And I really, really didn't lose that much muscle, but there was just something, I'm like, okay, I want to see if I can

actually, like, because as long as I've been working out, I feel like I've always kind of looked the same. My weights fluctuated. I've had babies, but I've never been like, wow, I am more muscular than I've ever been. And I just got really curious about that. So I decided to stop more of the gentle method and just hire a coach, go all in on really trying to see if I could get the most muscle on my body that I've ever had. And I've loved it. It's, it's kind of been like nostalgic in a way because it's like how I used to really train. But I just kind of wanted to push myself for the first time in a while and see if I can really make some changes after two babies. I love the muscle growth era that you're in right now. Yeah, because I'm eating more. Exactly. It's protein forward.

Yeah. But here's the thing. There will be all these fitness fads. before, now and forever in the future. This one style of training will pop up, it'll become popular, and then it won't be. And this new style of training will become popular until it's not. Yeah. We will forever into the future of time

as human beings always go back to what works. Yeah. And what works is strength training. I just talked about this in my previous podcast. there might be seasons where I personally pursue an ultra, a marathon, a high rocks, a bodybuilding competition, whatever it is, I will always go back to once that season is over, bodybuilding and strength training. If there is one way you should train for the rest of your life, it is resistance training. I agree. So your goal with this new style of training was to build muscle,

to put on... Right. I don't say size, but lean tissue. For sure. Yep. Yeah. And a lot of that has to do with diet.

So I hired a coach, Andrew Taylor. He was great. Just because we're trying to have a baby soon, I've kind of like leaned off of the intensity of it, just to be a little bit more gentle on my body.

But it was the first time, really, that I would always, you know, we're healthy. We eat clean. But I was really like, okay, I have to marry these two things together if I actually want to see results. So he started me in a reverse diet just to see like chlorically what I can eat without gaining weight. And I was shocked, truly. And I think that was

a huge eye-opener for me because I knew just from being married to you and just all the research and stuff I've done and what you've taught me. Like if I want to gain muscle, I have to eat. I cannot be in a deficit. Women, you cannot be in a deficit. Women, you cannot be in a deficit. and gain muscle. Is that correct? Yes. So to say you were in a reverse diet, you and your coach, Andrew, were increasing your calories. Week by week. Week by week to see how much food you could consume without gaining significant weight. Body fat. Yeah. Body fat. Yep. Exactly. So I think he started me at, and my numbers don't matter. I'll just say them for context. But I think he started me at 1500, which felt like I was starving myself, to be quite frank. And that's crazy because a lot of women these

days, like, don't even touch that number because they're so afraid of weight gain. And then we would slowly increase. And I'm like, oh, surely I'm going to get to like 1,800. And then he's going to tap me out. And then I'm just going to have to go back down. And I got up to like probably 2,300 calories. And I had the best workouts of my life. And I did not look. I did not feel fluffy. I wasn't gaining weight. But I was able to push myself to failure in these workouts because I had the fuel to do so. So, well, yes, the training part was huge, but it's like, it's the food is what I feel like fueled me to be able to actually explore this and do it correctly. Yeah, I remember evenings where we'd be getting ready to go for bed. And that's typically when we have like our last meal the night.

Yeah. And you would have all these carbs left over. Yeah. And proteins. You learn a lot about how you eat when you start counting again. And fats. And you were having to get creative. Yeah.

to consume all these calories before bed. So then you had to learn, okay, I need to kind of like disperse these calories earlier in the day. Yes. So that I'm not having to like stuff myself at night. Yep. So I think you get to a point, maybe you still are where your breakfast was like 70 grams of protein. Oh, yeah. It's my favorite way to eat now.

So what's your typical breakfast right now? Yeah. So like my, what I learned. So like for me, I'm 130 pounds. I try to get at least that in protein a day. Like at one point, I think he had me at like 150. And that seems like a lot, but I got so good at it. So now my favorite thing to do is front, like you said,

front load my protein because for me personally, I love breakfast. And by the time dinner comes around and our kids are screaming and throwing food at us, I'm like, I don't even know what I'm eating. That's not an exaggeration. It's not an exaggeration. Nico is in this phase right now where he is throwing his food. Yeah, last night it was...

At us. Meatballs. I said it was meatballs. But the night before, what did we have the night before? The rice. Salmon and rice. Square. He was throwing salmon and rice all across the kitchen.

He's got an arm. It goes over the table. I was sitting there eating my dinner. shirtless because we just got done swimming. And I'm feeling salmon hit the back of my head as I'm trying to get this meal down. He's throwing food. It's not an exaggeration. And the kids are eating off my plate. Dinner is a mess. So I really like to start dialed. So yeah,

breakfast is where I try to literally get almost like half of my protein in. And I'm so hungry. So it works. So my go-to lately has been like, so I'll kind of show you like what my breakfast used to be to give it. Like I would have protein oats. I'd have, you know, half a cup of oats. I'd throw in a scoop of protein powder and some berries, maybe some nut butter call it a day. that's probably 30, 40, 30, 35 grams of protein. And that might seem like a lot, but when you have higher goals, it's not enough. So then what I started to do once I had these protein goals, I would, if I was having oatmeal, I would do the half a cup of oats, do this cup of protein powder, I would add a cup of egg whites into my oatmeal. And then, or maybe I would have some turkey bacon on the side.

And I've been putting my protein to my coffee, just trying to find. find ways to really front load my day so I don't have to like play ketchup as the day goes on. Right now my favorite breakfast is Greek yogurt, scoop of protein powder in the Greek yogurt, and then I'll have turkey bacon on the side. And that's like 70 grams of protein with, you know, the protein in my coffee. So if I'm under 60 grams after breakfast, I'm disappointed. It's impressive. Yeah. I just, and I feel good. I'm not like, oh my gosh, too much. But that's when I normally have my protein powder too. And I really only have one serving, two servings of protein powder a day.

And then from there, it's just off to the races. I try to always get between lunch is a little bit lighter, probably like 30 grams. And then if I'm snacking, it's because I need more protein. And then at the end of the day, if I need something, it's cottage cheese, it's yogurt, an extra scoop of protein powder. But yeah, I found the most success with hitting my goals if I can just knock it out early. So changes you've made to diet, working with this coach, increasing total clark intake and seeing positive returns on your training and the way you feel. Prioritizing protein, hitting your protein goals daily, and being more intentional with the foods you're consuming.

Yeah. Quality. and instead of snacking throughout the day, these larger boluses of food within like three meals. Yeah. You weren't mindless snacking. What have been your go-to-protein sources to hit that, say, 130 to 150 grams of protein at day?

So obviously, I love our weight concentrate. It's so good. It's really good in digestion. Sorry, no, yeah. Yeah, you've been consuming the isolate. I like the isolate, yeah. Our concentrate's really, really good too. But isolate, explain the difference.

So we've been consuming weight protein for years and years and years now. For the longest time, we've sold way protein concentrate, which is your basic weight protein. Way protein concentrate has lactose in it. And for people who have issues digesting lactose, there is another option. You can either do a plant-based protein powder, like our vegan protein powder, which is pea protein-based. P-protein, watermelon seed, pumpkin seed, protein sources. And then we've recently launched our way protein isolate. And an isolate undergoes additional processing and filtration, which removes a lot of the lactose.

So for people who have issues digesting lactose, an isolate is a great option. It's better digestibility. That's a little bit leaner. And you don't have the stomach issues that you might experience on a weight protein concentrate. Yeah. So you've been consuming, we both have been consuming our weight protein isolate since we've launched it. I choose isolate too because I've actually, I read somewhere that a lot of like women's skin issues can be derived from dairy. So it's like, okay, cool, let's try this isolate. And I even get like lactose-free yogurt now. And I feel like my skin's never been better. So that's why I choose the isolate. They both taste amazing. So that obviously is a huge source of protein for me. I'll have like on average probably two scoops today. There's 25 grams of protein in each scoop.

I, let's see. So breakfast, obviously eggs, egg whites, turkey bacon, chicken sausage. I don't love all the process, but sometimes like once in a while to hit that, you have to. Turkey bacon, the turkey bacon you consume has six grams of protein per slice. Oh, yeah, three slices, it's 18 grams. Right. And it's amazing. Like, I crave it.

It's so good. So that's what I normally stick with for breakfast. or sometimes it'll make me like protein waffles or pancakes or something like that. But right now I'm on a really big like fruit, protein powder, yogurt, with some turkey bacon and like a piece of sourdough. I love that. And then for lunch, pretty much just like leftover, whatever you have prepped, which is normally either ground beef, I love salmon, chicken, a really,

and you either love this or hate this, but 33 grams per can, tuna. Tuna is the easiest, quickest way. If you were in a bind. How do you prep your tuna? I will get that yummy mayo we get from the farmer's market, which is like avocado. Avocado oil based. I'll put a scoop of mayo in it. And then sometimes I'll put some like Thai sweet chili sauce and like cucumbers, shredded carrots, edamomame, just more of like a Asian vibe.

Really, really good. But tuna, don't sleep on tuna. If you were a mom and lunch is crazy and you need something super high protein, it's really easy. It's great. And even like canned salmon too. Again, you're probably rolling your eyes because you would probably never do that. I would eat it in a pinch. Yeah, okay.

But if I have ground beef prepped, which I always do. Yeah, I'm so overground beef, honestly, Mr. Beef and Rice. So that's lunch. I love like a burger bowl for lunch, ground beef, those Jesse and Ben's fries with like pickles, tomatoes, all the things. At lunch I'm always having, at every meal I'm always having protein carb. I'm pretty just naturally low fat with my food. preferences and what I like, but I try to hit a good balance of all three in each meal. And then for dinner, we're always having a really nice size serving of meat,

whether it's chicken thighs, chicken breast, chicken tenders, or steak, pork chops, salmon. We don't eat chicken tenders that much. No, like the tenderloins. I know. We rarely eat that. Okay, I even knew when I said chicken tenders, you're going to freak out. Chicken tenderloin, whatever. I guess you're right.

Just run down to McDonald's, pick up some chicken tenders, pull the breading all. The little guys. and for snacks, hard-boiled eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt, if I haven't had that already, beef jerky, some protein bars I really love. I love the prime. Prime by equipped foods. Super clean. I love that. I've recently tried David protein bars.

Those are higher protein, but skeptical. We don't really know. So I try to stay away from protein bars. Again, I try to keep it as whole as possible because I know. I'm working on a protein bar right now. Please do. please bring it back um so yeah it's just it's all my whole philosophy with food now as being a mom being a busy human and just having goals to be as strong and as least frail as I possibly can be

it's food is fuel food is fueling whatever I'm doing that day I know in the summer I'm so much more active so naturally I lean on a little bit more carbs than I would like in the winter if I'm a little inside more, but I just feel like I'm constantly moving. So I've never really been one to be afraid of carbs, but now I just see them so different. I think that's just the biggest miss with women these days is the carb fear, whereas for me, carbs, it's like the gas in the car. I've noticed that approach with you. Yeah. And it was like yesterday, you were running around doing yard work. And you came in, you grabbed a go bar and slathered honey and sea salt in the go bar. And then slathered honey and sea salt in the go bar. and you grabbed that one back outside.

Yeah, because I was feeling a little, it was fading. Yeah. Yeah. Right now, what is, because I cook a lot of our dinners. Mm-hmm. Most of our dinners. Most of our dinners. What is the favorite dinner you have right now that I make?

I mean, probably what you did two nights ago. Like, I love salmon so much. And then the rice cubes you make. Oh, my God. We got to share that. Yeah. So I did something different with. the salmon this time. Yeah. We typically bake our salmon. Salmon is just like a just a powerhouse of

a protein source. Like there's so many benefits. Like I just, I love it so much. It's great protein, great omega-3 fatty acids. You got to cook salmon right though. Yeah. Like I pull salmon out of the the heat source at 145 degrees internal. If you overcook it, you don't get that flakiness. Sometimes I'll even pull down like 138, 140. You like, you like, like, you like, yours more cooked. I like a little crisp. But here's what I did this this past weekend. It was so good. I pan seared it. So I got our cast iron smoking hot. Added some oil into that pan, olive oil. And I started skin side up. And I had a nice, just crispy layer on the salmon. And I flipped it skin side down,

crisped up that skin layer. And then I probably brought it to like 100 degrees internal. Put it in the oven after that to finish off and brought it up to 140 Fahrenheit internal.

Brought it out. It was cooked perfectly. But the way that we do rice, our take on rice when paired with salmon, is I make sushi rice. So I prepare sushi rice, which can get sushi rice at the grocery store. I rinse it first. I do two cups of dry rice, three cups of water,

some rice, wine, vinegar, a little bit of sugar, a little bit of salt, cook it. And then when it's done, I line a, like, Tupperware pan with parchment paper, and I put all the rice in there, and then I pack it really tightly in there. It's a block. It's an art. It is an art. It's a process. I pack it in there. And then I cover it, I put it in the fridge for, a few hours. And then I flip it out on a cutting board and it's this big block of rice. I mean, you really got to pack it into that type of container. You slice like a cake, like literally. And you cut it into like two by two inch blocks. And then we, we panseer it on a cast iron, a little bit of oil. So every side is crispy. We should make a video for this. We should. Yeah,

yeah. Sea salt on top. And then I eat it with my hand. Oh, so do our kids. Our kids love it. You just pick it up like a brick and you eat like a hand. It's crispy rice. It is so good. And with salmon, it is amazing. So we had salmon. Yeah. Crispy rice and broccoli.

Yeah. I also get really excited too, like when you make chicken thighs with the skin on, which old Stephanie would have been like, take the skin off. But now I know, like looking at my diet, like, I really am lower on fat. What is skin? It's just extra fat. So now I enjoy that because. I am balanced throughout the day. But chicken thighs, just in general, like we're a chicken thigh family over chicken breast.

Definitely. That's just torturous if you're eating chicken breast. But if you cook a chicken breast right. Yeah, yeah. But chicken thighs are just so good. But when you make hot honey butter chicken thighs, I love like a meat, potatoes or rice, and a veggie. Like that is our jam. I love it.

And we'll treat ourselves once in a while. And when we go out to eat too, like I get, I talk about this a lot with friends. like how do you make good choices when you go out to eat versus at home? Because we cook, what, six out of the seven days, you'd say? At least. Yeah. So I, when we do out to eat that one date night a week or if we're going to hop-dottie with the family, I am fully committed to enjoying everything about that meal.

So I'm getting a whole bowl of parm trouble fries. I'm going one to one with you at sushi. I, you do, I told you this after our last date night. Yeah. One of the reasons I love you is because you eat food. Yeah. And if you were a woman who didn't eat food, I would struggle in this relationship. When we go for sushi, which we made a new agreement after this past week.

Just Uchiko. When we go for date night moving forward. Oh, that agreement, yeah. We're only going for sushi moving forward because it's one thing that we can't prepare ourselves really well. and like some of these dinners we go to We leave We're like We could have done this better

Yeah Sushi feels indulgent But you feel really good after And we go one On one Like no exaggeration I'm so impressed by how much There's gonna be a couple that I'll give you

I'm so impressed by how much Nagiri You can consume It's lean It's not always lean But it's protein And it's just the simplest thing And it's so good

Ponzu is the key It is one of the most attractive traits in this relationship. That's odd. I love it. Okay, well, I'm happy that that is the case. So you share with me this Instagram real from Jesse James and Eric Decker two nights ago.

Oh, and he's like the magic, he's waiting for the magic words. Yeah, it's like when you go to dinner with your spouse and the guy finishes his meal first and he's waiting for his wife or significant other. I'm so full. To not finish their food, the meat specifically. That was so good. So when we were at, we went for Mexican food this past week for date night. We got chicken fajitas.

We both got chicken fajitas. And it was probably eight to 10 ounces of chicken. Yeah. I ate mine. I was still hungry afterwards. And I mean, I finished my food in five minutes. Yeah. You finished your food in like 25 minutes.

And I kept watching. you had like multiple pieces of chicken left. And I kept thinking, I think she's done. So that's what you're thinking of the whole time. That's what I was thinking of. Sweet. Is she going to finish that chicken? And if not, I'm going to go after her.

You ate at all. I did because I needed my protein. I wanted that chicken so bad. It was good chicken. Yeah. Okay, but all that being said, when, and I think we're both this way too. I think a lot of people, like we've been invited dinner before and they're all nervous about where to take us.

Like, no, when we're going out to eat, we are fully prepared. to indulge and enjoy whatever in front of us because we don't do it very often. And I think because we stay dialed and consistent throughout the week, we have that mental freedom going into a night out where we can have a cocktail

and chips and guacamole and just not even think about it. Like there's no food guilt around it because I know I'm doing everything I can to send myself up for success during the week. Yeah. I am the type of person, though,

I always look at the menu before we go to a dinner. I don't. I think there's two-dye- types of people. Yeah. Yeah, that's the military planner in you, maybe. I always, I like, when we go for dinner. Yeah. Tonight we're going to dinner with a couple. I know what I'm ordering before we get there. What are you ordering? It's a 14 ounce steak. It's the only steak on the menu. Okay. All right. That's what I'm getting. Or they also have a bluefin tuna on the menu.

Yeah. But I base my, my planning, based off how much. meat I think I'm going to get and I base my assumption based off the price of that meal. So you were going to say? Yeah, I found myself enjoying eating out more now because I still do. Like I make mindful decisions, right? Like chicken beheadas, for example. Love fajitas. Are they the most healthy thing?

No, you get a plate full of cheese and onions and peppers covered in oil and all this stuff in tortillas. And but I love myself enjoy those things. And if I'm feeling like full and satisfied or I indulged a lot in chips and guacamole, I'll only have one or two tortillas instead of four, you know. But the base of my plate at all times, whether we're out or in is protein because I know that's a non-negotiable. It's what I need. Yeah. So those are the changes you've made to your diet to facilitate muscle growth in this strength-focused era. You got to eat.

You got to eat. What about your training? How is your training changed specifically? Yeah. It feels, so when I got my first couple weeks of programming from my coach, it felt like I looked at it. I'm like, oh, okay, sweet. Like very familiar as far as like content-wise goes, like the movements and the exercises I was doing, everything I've already done before. But split-wise, it was like two up.

Right now I'm doing two upper body focus days. Nothing specific. It's kind of like sprinkled all muscle groups throughout. Two lower body days. I'm on Wednesdays still incorporating a Pilates core focused, like 30-minute workout, kind of as like a middle week recovery. Also just want to, you know, keep my core strong after all these babies. And then Saturdays, I will either take like an extra long tennis clinic or a spin ride, cardio. So I'm basically intensely strength training four times a week right now.

And when I got the workouts from him, again, like I said, they looked familiar. But I said the biggest difference was volume and my workouts got a little bit longer. And there are definitely days where I don't have time to do four sets of every single movement just because mom and time crunch and stuff like that. But it made me realize, though, I kind of was taking some shortcuts in my training before when it came to volume amount of exercises in each workout. there's, we talked about this too. Like I really loved, and his structure is very similar.

It's like a compound movement. I think it's it called bilateral. Is that what you were saying? Like when you work just one leg or one arm at a time? One arm or leg would be unilateral. That would make sense. Yeah, unilateral movement. And then like accessories work.

So all of those things are sprinkled in my workouts. And they feel very well-rounded. And I'm tired by the end of it. And the biggest thing is, you know, I'll see my programmed workout and it will say RDLs, four sets of, or let's say shoulder press, four sets of 15. And for me, I was like, okay, four sets of 15. I'm just going to pick up, old me would pick up the same 15 pound dumbbells that I would always pick up. I'd hit the 15 reps and I'd be good. And then I just sit there and wait for the next set. Now, yes, 15 is the set number of reps. But I'm not always hitting that 15. because my goal is to hit close to failure in those reps.

So, like this morning, I did shoulders. Now I'm picking up. Today I shoulder pressed 25 pound dumbbells in each hand. Like, I would have never done that before. But I only hit eight reps because I could not go further before. Like, could not get them over my head if I tried. That is the goal in every single workout and every single set. That's the biggest difference for me,

is not just mindlessly picking the same dumbbells that I've always picked up. It's no. last week, I hit this. This week I'm going to try for a few reps with five pounds more. So you've been incorporating progressive overload. That's what that is. Yeah. And before, I guess you could say you were just going through the movements. Yeah. Literally, same dumbbells for 10 years. And that is what so many women do. Like, women are married to 10, or sorry, 8, 10, 12, and 15 pound dumbbells. And that's all they think they can lift. And I'm here to tell you that it's, is not the case. You can do so much more. And we've had so many conversations because I was like,

Nick, is it, should I just, is it better for me to do eight reps with 25 pound dumbbells for a press? Or should I do 15 reps with 15? It took me a very long time to realize that quantity isn't always the way to get strong and grow muscle. Yeah. Quantity as in reps. You can describe failure in terms of an RPE scale, rate of perceived effort or exertion. So for example, if you do an RPE7, it means you had three reps left in the tank. RPE9 means you had one rep left in the tank. RPE10 means you went to failure. You couldn't do it anymore.

That is so confusing to me. Fine. So if I said... I get it, but like, how do you know that you had three reps left if you didn't do the three reps? It's an estimate. Okay, okay. So instead of me saying, hey, do a set, do it for... 8 to 10 reps. I could say do a set. You choose the weight to an RPE 9. Okay. So when you feel like

you can maybe do one more, you stop. Yep. So if now you're going to RPE 9 or 10, you're going to failure, what would you say you were previously doing? Like how, how much of an effort were you putting forth towards your lifts? RPE 10. B. You were going to failure before? Oh, no, I'm sorry. Now you're going, you had nine reps left. Probably. Like when I tell you, like, I was like, when I would see shoulder press programmed back in the day or I would have that written in my workout, it was 15s. Always. I never, it never even crossed my mind in 2018 to try to pick up something heavier than that.

So were you tired after a workout or set? No. I would be sore. But no. It's just looking back, it just, it was so mindless and unintentional. And I just, I never try. Like, I think it can be super intimidating when you are by yourself to, you know, pick up heavy dumbbells and throw them over your head.

But once you do it once, the confidence builds. Like today, like when I was, you know, shoulder pressing the 25 pound dumbbells, it's like, a spot would really be great right now. I probably could knock out a couple more if I had just someone there just to know. But once you do it once, you just, truly you don't realize how much, how strong you really are until you just try. to pick up. Like, what's the worst that could happen? You have to go back down and wait. Sweet, that's it. So you've not only increased training volume, but you've also increased training intensity.

Absolutely, yeah. So we were at the house the day. This was probably two weeks ago. And I saw you opening a package and you pulled out these gym Reaper lifting straps. Yeah. I was like, who ordered these? It was you. I was so impressed. Because I feel like my leg days are hindered by my grip strength. I know. And I still. Still, I feel like I still have not even, I need to do a leg day with you because I still feel like I haven't fully tapped into my strength because I feel like my grip strength truly hinders. I'll put you through a leg day. Yeah. Do you want to hit, I'm hitting it Wednesday this week.

Well, sure. Seriously, do you want to? Yes, as long as you don't make me do the one that gave me bruises on my hip bones. That machine. The belt squat. Yeah. I'll choose something else. You don't have to do belt squat.

All right, we'll hit legs Wednesday together. Okay. But yeah, straps, amazing. Lifting straps. Truly. Yeah. Game changing for just comfort and being able to lift more weight. Also for dumbbell rows, for back day.

I've been using streps a lot. It helps a lot. Slight pivot. You've picked up a new hobby in sport, tennis. Yeah. Over the last, how long have you been playing? A year now? It's been a year.

Yep. A year of tennis. A year of tennis. A year of tennis. What made you want to start playing tennis? Do you remember? Because I don't. No. I don't. I don't. I think... So we have tennis courts in our neighborhood and we have to drive by them every day to go to our house.

So I think I just... I mean, I grew up with an aunt who tennis is her life. It's her method of staying fit. It's her social life. It's everything. She's just a tennis freak. She's amazing. She's so incredible. Always thought it was cool. but I don't know I just never considered it I think I picked up a racket maybe like two times in my whole life because we'd play in Florida on vacation

because my parents like to play my dad played tennis in college we'll see He still says he was a tennis pro We'll see I don't know But we would just mess around growing up But I think just one day I was like Hey I think it was beginning of the year

Last year I'm gonna try something new I want to try to challenge myself Because I'm married to you right Who picks all of these endeavors and these goals and these challenges. And I just never really do that. That's just really not my personality.

Like I'm not, I'm a goal-oriented person, but I'm not like a competitive gal. But actually, if you ask my coach, Michael, he would probably say I am. But yeah, I think just one day, I was like, I think I'm going to try that. So I just emailed our club and was like, hey, do you guys offer private lessons?

And I went to my first one, and it was probably a joke. but we have some really phenomenal instructors in our neighborhood and I am addicted. You are addicted. I am addicted and I was telling Michael the other day if only you could have captured me like you know when you see the Instagram rails

it's like first day of watching a show and it's like themselves and then they slowly turn it into the characters that's me with tennis. Like first day playing tennis I was in like hokas and leggings and a vest and then now it's like I haven't made the best.

move to get a visor yet, but that's coming soon. But no, I, it has changed my life. What do you love about it? I, there's so many things. I play three times a week, a mix between, like, I have a private lesson and then some clinics. I love the social aspect of it. Like, I've made some best friends from tennis that are in our neighborhood. And it's, it's just so fun. It's so fun to be active with people and just, like, have a group that you do stuff with. Like, it's so fun. Um, my coach Michael. is one of my great friends now. Like, I, it's so fun.

And so I love that part of it. But I was never a super athletic kid growing up. Like, I was a dancer, which I was never that person that, like, fought. The dance is a sport. Like, I think dance is dance, right? It's not a sport, in my opinion. Hard take. I just don't think it is.

I think it's an art and it's its own thing, I think. But I was never like a, you know, standard sports kind of. person. And I was kind of always insecure about that. I just, I don't know. It's never really succeeded in anything like that. So to try something new, and I think what I'm addicted to is the progress, because it is really, really cool when you decide to do something and you see yourself getting better. You commit to it. Yeah. And it's awesome. And I think the number one thing I like about it. I love that it's outside. I play outside if we don't have indoor courts or anything. So that just vitamin D and being outside is incredible.

But I think the number one thing I like about it is when you're playing tennis, you cannot think of anything else other than tennis. Or you will get a ball to the face or you'll suck. Like, I could be having the most chaotic day, the worst day. I could be so just having something way so heavy on my heart. And it's like you literally are brainwashed for an hour. Like it's kind of amazing. And that's why I really want you to do it. I just really want you to play with me because that's the best part.

because it's just, it's such a mental sport. I've been told that it's like a, it's like very similar to golf. Like there's just so many things you can fine tune. You can always get better. And there's days where you just absolutely suck for no reason. But you always want to go back to it because you always want to get better. I went with you. I love it.

So much. A few months ago. And we used the ball machine. And after that experience, I had so much more respect for the game of tennis. Oh, yeah. It is so hard. I couldn't even make contact Oh yeah

And just that alone contact But then there's like When I'm just now getting to the point Where strategy and intention is coming into play Before it was just like hit the ball Get it over Stephanie I don't care where it goes But now it's like nowhere can I hit to get this point

That's fun That's really fun And it's also taught me too I love being coached I love being coached I love being taught I love being around people that are experts and pros and are just so passionate,

like my coach, he is, like, he's, when we drive by the courts, Michael is always out there. He is, yeah. Like, he's out there every single day, all day, because he loves the sport and he loves watching people get passionate and learn and get better.

And it's just, it's a really cool feeling as an adult to have that. And there's so much chaos going on to get better at something, it's just, yeah, I love it so much. I think I truly will play for my whole life now. Being coachable. Being coachable is a very valuable skill and characteristic.

It shows humility. Yeah. It shows openness and being willing to learn. I think you should be really proud of that. It's been cool to watch you progress in tennis. Thanks. Yeah. I wish I got to get you out there.

And get really committed. I need to find a hobby, but I don't know if tennis is it. I'll be honest. We'll see. I love that you love tennis. Yeah. And I will keep supporting. Yes. Thank you. For example. Yeah, it's been, it's been a family endeavor.

It actually. You brought the tennis girls over for Cinco de Mayo. Yeah. Oh, I'm talking about how like you let me go play it even like Monday nights. It's not just when, you know, you're at work. True. So I appreciate that. But you brought the tennis girls over. Yeah. For Cinco to Mayo. Mm-hmm. I was in my element, my hobby of cooking.

I cooked you girls' chickens, take fajitas, made homemade margaritas, chips. chips and guac. That's my element. Put me in a kitchen. Let me serve food to people. That is my hobby. They loved it. They loved it.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. You've been using a lot of GM sport around tennis? Yeah. I mean, I can't believe I just unlocked that, truly. It's hot here in Texas right now. It's June. So, you know, when I'm playing in the winter months and in the spring, I mean, it's hard. It's always hard.

But in 100 degree. you know, weather on courts that makes it feel like 120. It is, it is a sauna. That's how it is. It is crazy. So I don't know. I was just before a clinic the other day, I was like, why haven't, I need something. And normally I reach for a go bar, but I just wasn't feeling it. I'm like, oh, I have GUN sport in the pantry. And that is our carb, electrolyte sodium supplement. And when I tell you, It was the best I've ever played and the best I've ever felt because of that. Now I bring a tub with me because I want everyone that I play with to have it because one thing I've noticed, especially because I see a lot of older women on the courts and even the girls I play with sometimes too.

Women are just so afraid to fuel themselves based on what they're doing that day. And if you are playing tennis in a 100 degree weather, you better be fueling yourself and having electrolytes and sodium and hydration and all the things. So I told you, I'm like, we need to make a tennis ad for doing a sport because it is like the perfect supplement for that sport. I felt so energized and good and just on fire. I mean, even my coach was like, what did you take today? Just take a bunch of bottles.

I should, yeah. And samples over to them. But even like, it's funny because even I did the other day and someone was like, oh, carbs. I'm like, take it and you will see how much better. you play. Yeah. Because the chicken breast and the broccoli that you've had today, it's not going to help you at all. Underfueled. Yes. It's, it is a, it is such a problem with women. I just want to shout from the rooftops. Like see food as fuel. And it changes everything. Yeah. So to close it out, run me through your daily supplement routine. You know, where we are creatures of habit. Yeah. We

very routine people. What supplements do you take every single day? Yeah. So I wake up. The first thing that I do is I get like eight ounces of water in a cold or cold water in a glass. In one glass, I put in strong green, strong reds just for micronutrients gaps I have in my diet, just nutrition wise. And electrolytes and creatine. I've been taking creatine for probably three years. Don't go a day without it. So that's the first thing I have in my body. And I feel like that brings me back to life. And then I will have like a half a scoop of protein and my coffee just because I honestly love the way it tastes. And then- You want to do vanilla? Yeah, vanilla. It's like a vanilla latte. It's so good. And then you get mad at me because I take all the rest of my supplements at night.

Yeah, she takes all of, she takes all these supplements before going to bed. You know why? I figured out why the other day. It started when I was pregnant because I could never stomach anything in the morning. So I think, and it's just stuck. I just take them at night now. I don't know. All these energizing vitamins and minerals right before going to bed. I sleep just fine. You do. I sleep just fine. So I take fish oil, our fish oil, strong omega, which is the best. I love it. Keep that in our fridge. There's no like fish burps or anything. It's truly the best form of fish oil I've ever taken. I'm not just saying that. Strong joints I take. Because, you know, we're getting up there. Joint support. Yep. I take a prenatal right now. I take. I take. I take magnesium at night. I take our peak sleep at night on nights that I just want to extra good. Night's rest.

What else? That kind of just depends what season we're in. Like if we're in cold and flu season, it changes. But I keep it pretty basic, honestly. Sometimes I'll throw in like turmeric if I'm in a season where I feel a little bit more inflamed. That's pretty much it. Why no pre-workout? Because caffeine.

Something happened to me. once I got a little bit of thyroid issues where I'm just so caffeine sensitive. I mean, I have a cup of decaf in the morning. You do have decaf now. I hold my caffeine until about 10, 30 or 11 most days, and I'll just have one source of caffeine a day. And honestly, I've noticed a big difference in just like jitteriness, anxiousness, how I feel. I do. I love energy drinks and pre-workout, but I just can't take it anymore.

Just turning into an old sensitive lady when it comes to caffeine. Your caffeine intake has decreased and mine has increased. But I will say our pump formula, I will, so like the type of workouts on my strength days, like it's the perfect opportunity to take that. And it is, do you remember the first day I texted you? And I was like, I think I've experienced a pump for the first time. Yeah. I was trying to explain the pump to Steph for the longest time.

And it's probably because you weren't training with enough volume and intensity. Totally. To get a pump. Yeah. And I do remember the first time you ever experienced a pump. It was a crowd moment. Beased into a picture. I was like, wow, I've really turned into a gymbrough.

But that day I also took Pump. So it was like, whoa, but you're totally right. I think it's because I've changed the way I train, I'm actually experiencing it now. But I do. I love the way that feels. But yeah, I'm just not a pre-workout girl. But I know ours is amazing, but it's not for me. Yeah.

Oh, and then recover. Now post. Post. That's post now. We've rebranded, recover to post. Yeah. I will have that one. a day too, just especially in the summer when I'm just like active all day. Yeah, we have a

basically supplement story in our pantry. I'm lucky me. We do. Well, it's been cool to see the progress you made with fitness and your training journey and being muscle focused and consuming more protein. It's been fun for me. Yeah, because I'm not in a, I was in a deficit for like two weeks and you're like, I don't know if this is the time to do this. I'm like, listen, listen, brother, I've dealt with this with you for so many years. And I'm in a deficit for two weeks and you couldn't handle it. I was like, hey, you being in a deficit is hurting our whole family. Might be putting a strain on our relationship and our family.

Oh. We need to go back into a surplus. But I'm not really in a surplus. I would say I'm just maintaining right now. The deficit, though, it was. It hurts. It hurts. But sometimes.

When you want to get a little right and tight, that's when you, that is the time for deficit. When you do the work like I did for six months and you want to just, you know, be a little bit more lean. But then I did realize you, I want to say you were right. But as we're entering a season where I want to have another baby eventually, I don't need to be in a deficit right now. Yeah. And honestly, summertime, I want to enjoy ice cream with my kids. I want to go out to eat with you and have a cocktail and enjoy margaritas by the pool. it is not a time for me that I want to be in my fitness pal, logging food when I should be enjoying the moment with my family. So no deficits for the foreseeable future. Thank you. Yes. Thank you. Well, thank you for coming on and sharing all this with us. It's been cool to see. Thank you. I look forward to our next date night. Sushi. Yes. Sushi only. Uchiko only. Uchiko. We always wrap up our Uchiko dinner with like four pieces of.

of the Wagyu Nagiri each. Melt in your mouth. Dipped in some pansu. Mm. So we'll see you guys in the next episode.